


Come Undone

by AlaraKitan



Category: The Orville (TV)
Genre: BDSM, Daddy Kink, Death, Dirty Talk, Dom/sub, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Face Slapping, Femdom, Fetish, Humiliation, Insanity, Mental Instability, Oral Sex, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Rough Sex, Verbal Humiliation, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-04
Updated: 2019-03-04
Packaged: 2019-11-09 04:15:37
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 21,361
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17994668
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AlaraKitan/pseuds/AlaraKitan
Summary: Shortly after establishing a very taboo relationship with Ed Mercer, Alara experiences a deadly brain infection that threatens to shatter her sanity entirely.





	1. Immaculate Dream

**Author's Note:**

> I'm not even sure where I'm going with this really I just know it's very fun to write.

_"You know there are times I when I feel like you and I are more alike than any two people on the ship."_

* * *

After that horrible date with Dann she couldn't stop thinking about Ed. What he'd said in the mess hall a few nights ago when she'd come over to join him for a drink. How alike they were. Though his answer hadn't been exactly what she thought it might be, or what she wanted it to be, the feelings were still there. Maybe it was time to stop denying that and do something about it. Both of them were super unlucky in love. She realized that she had only not said anything or done anything because she wanted to try to give him time to work it out. Figure out his own issues with Kelly and how he felt. Except, the whole ship now knew Kelly had moved on and was dating Cassius and Ed was having a very hard time letting go of that. If she went back to her quarters now, anyway, Dann would know where to find her but if she went to the Captain's quarters then she might be able to avoid being followed. Dann wouldn't think to come after her there. Who would? 

She'd made it almost all the way there when he nearly slammed into her coming around the corner. She let out a yelp, which made her sound and feel pathetic as she quickly backed up before seeing it was him. She heard him take in a breath, almost as if he was surprised, not to see her specifically but how she was dressed. She looked up at him and offered a bit of a sheepish smile. It wasn't as if he had never seen her out of uniform before but he really hadn't seen her dressed in something like this either. 

"Alara," He said, "Uh...wow you look nice." 

"Thanks," She said, "I was actually coming to see you so if you weren't busy I could really use a moment of your time. I know I said earlier that if you needed to talk you could come to me but I-" 

"No, it's fine," He said and took a deep breath before turning back towards his room, seemingly abandoning whatever he was heading for in the first place. She hoped whatever it was, it wasn't too important but if he was giving up on it that easily then it couldn't be, right? They went back into his room and he motioned for her to take a seat on the couch before removing his jacket. He then went to the replicator and got them both a shot of Xelayan tequila. She took a seat on the couch and thanked him for the drink when he handed it to her but then thought better of drinking it. 

"You know, I want to have a serious discussion so I'd prefer not to drink but I won't stop you, Sir." She said.

"Ed is fine," He replied then looked down at the drink he was holding before setting it down on the coffee table instead of downing it. "Are you okay? This sounds kind of serious." 

"Maybe it is," She said, "Maybe it's just that I had a really awful date with someone Bortus tried to set me up with and it got me to thinking about how you said to me that you thought, sometimes, that we were more alike than any two people on the ship." 

"Yeah, well I do think that-" 

"And I thought there wouldn't be any harm in exploring that." She interrupted, "Sir, I mean you know like friends. That's okay, isn't it? Not really breaking any rules are we?" 

"No, we can be friends as long as you can draw the line between that and well...aren't we already friends? I like to think we are at least." He sidetracked a bit midsentence. 

"No, I definitely consider you a friend but we never talk like this, I mean I do have conversations that get pretty deep with Commander Grayson...er um...Kelly but not you and I thought it could be beneficial for us." She said, "If you wanted to." 

"I'm fine with that." He smiled, "So, what do you want to talk about?" 

"I have no idea," She sighed then frowned. This was probably not the most thought out plan she'd ever had and even if she usually wasn't super impulsive tonight seemed to be a night where she was going to try new things. She wanted to actually converse with him in a romantic sense but she had chickened out and come up with the friendship thing instead. Stupid. Very, very stupid. "Where were you headed before I ran into you? Guess I was lucky I did you looked like you were off to do something pretty important." 

"It was nothing," He said dismissively. So much in fact that she was pretty sure it was important, either that or it was something personal, possibly against the rules, and he didn't want her to find out what it was. 

"Okay, well-" 

"Who were you on a date with anyway?" He asked, "Did you ditch him? He's not going to come looking for you, right?" 

"He might but I don't think he'd check the captain's quarters first, I mean I don't want to say he's stupid but he's also not the brightest star in the sky either..." 

"Well that could be a lot of people on this ship," Ed laughed, "Sorry...kidding, except for maybe Gordon." Alara laughed. Truth be told, if someone did manage to get into a position on a starship they had a decent level of intelligence so no one there was actually too stupid to be there, however, a lot of them lacked incredibly social graces, or common sense. People behave stupidly as well which wasn't exactly a reflection on their intelligence. At least not on paper and she certainly wasn't excluded from doing stupid things herself. It was probably why the crew all worked so well together. They weren't geniuses but they weren't so incredibly dumb they couldn't function as a team and run a starship. 

"I think we can all be very stupid and impulsive, anyway it was just a...well a setup." She said, "Not serious and I needed to get out of there. That guy, and no, I'm not going to tell you who it was but knowing him he's going to tell everyone within an hour, he just made me think about how much I'd rather be talking to you." 

"Alara-" 

"I know that we can't date. You're my superior and I realized that I let my stupid...crush on you get in the way of protocol." She blurted out, "Sorry I meant...I kind of...did I say crush?" 

"Yeah..." He said, "And I'm not exactly surprised it's kind of obvious, plus, I don't really...well I feel the same way but we can't...you know why we can't." 

"I know why," She said, "It's not appropriate but can we maybe...it's not like anyone has to know-" 

"Alara," 

"Right," She frowned and then reached to pick up the drink, downing the shot quickly before standing up and heading for the door. "I'm really sorry to have put you in this awkward position and it won't happen again. Please don't write anything in my file." 

"I won't," He said, turning to look at her from his spot on the couch. She frowned, it had been a bad idea but she'd spent enough time in there that maybe Dann had given up on trying to find her and had decided to go back to his room to write some more creepy poetry. Whatever the case, she knew she was going to be attempting to avoid him for a while. Forever if possible. Luckily there weren't too many situations where they had to be around each other or work together. She was happy for that. "Have a...good night." 

"I'll try," She said softly and stepped out of there quickly. Well, that was a huge bust and she was very annoyed with herself.  _Stupid, so stupid._ She hurried down the hall and just as she was rounding the corner she could hear Dann coming. She hadn't seen him yet but she did hear his voice and she didn't want to run into him so quickly after also trying to dodge him on a date. There was only one way to the ship's elevator and that was it. She had to turn back and think of something. Out of desperation, she went back to Ed's room but the door was locked. She could hear Dann getting closer. She used her security override code to get into Ed's room silently just in time to miss Dann. Ed wasn't in the lounge area, she stopped and listened and believed she could hear him upstairs. She breathed a sigh of relief. She would just wait in here for a few minutes, avoid Dann and Ed would never be the wiser. He was probably just going to sleep anyway. 

She went to sit on the couch. It was very comfortable and even more so because it smelled like Ed. Between the few drinks she'd already had that night and the nervous energy that was burned off trying to put up with, then escape Dann, she got a bit too comfortable and ended up dozing off right there on the couch. 

An unknown amount of time passed but she was pretty sure it hadn't been too long, she was jolted awake by some weird sound, it was definitely coming from upstairs. She looked around and paused, trying to see if it would happen again. There was a scream, like someone was in pain (female specifically) then a loud moan. She blinked a few times and got up. Was this a dream? It had to be. Maybe Ed was just watching a movie or something, but what if it wasn't that? What if he had a girl up there or something had happened and...well she didn't know. She headed for the stairs and walked up them quickly, her only drive her duty to protect the captain and the crew when she saw what was actually going on. 

It was a movie, alright, and not a normal one. It was pornography, even worse, it was specifically Xelayan bondage porn. Clear as day and Ed, well, he was enjoying himself on the bed greatly. Fully exposed to her. She didn't mean to stare but she definitely did, and he stared back, probably shocked she was even in there, questioning how this had happened before he let out a weird yelp and grabbed a pillow to put over his lap and ordered the computer to shut off the movie entirely. 

"Alara, what the hell?" He asked in a breathless voice. 

"I uh..." She said, "Okay I was trying to avoid my date he was coming down the hall I ditched on him I used my security code to get back in here and I may  have dozed off on the couch I am so sorry." 

"RIght..." He said slowly, "And you...how much did you see?" 

"Enough," She replied, "Is this...were you...because of me?" 

"Alara-" 

"Captain," She said, "So it is true, you really do feel this way about me, or is it just some kind of fetish for Xelayans?" 

"Maybe a little of both, fuck...please don't get upset I really...this was supposed to be private and you barged in here so if anything this is your fault." He accused trying to turn it back around on her as best he could. 

"I'm not upset I'm intrigued I guess," She said, still not moving from the spot where she was standing. Didn't make a move to back up even though she knew she should but she didn't try to come closer to him either. Even though part of him seemed like he wanted her to go he wasn't fighting it to hard himself. It made her wonder what the hell was going on here and what the hell this was about to lead to. 

"Uh....why is that?" Ed asked. 

"Well," She said, "From what little I saw just now and trust me it was very little you were watching a human male dominate a Xelayan female." 

"Okay well it's not always that-" 

"Is it?" 

"No I...I like a lot of different things can you...just give me a moment please like turn around." He said and made a motion with his hand to indicate he wanted her to turn. She nodded and turned so she wasn't looking at him anymore. She heard some shifting around before he cleared his throat and she turned back to look at him. The pillow was off of his lap and he was decent again just in his pajamas. "As you may have guessed I find many different aspects of the whole Xelayan strength thing intriguing for many different reasons maybe part of it is a power fantasy and then sometimes it has to do with...well...losing control." 

"By dominating another per-" 

"By being dominated." He said and looked away from her, "Guess it depends what mood I'm in when I watched something like this." 

"Wait you have porn of a human male being dominated by a Xelayan female?" She asked, kind of surprised to hear that. To be honest, she wasn't at all surprised by what she'd already seen. That fantasy was as common as, well, any other one. It was pretty vanilla and she'd known about it long before the point she'd walked in on the captain trying to get off to it. To be fair, she knew about the whole Xelayan dominatrix thing but as far as that went with human men it was typically a huge turn-off. 

"Yes...a lot of it." 

"Why were you in this mood tonight?" She asked, "After seeing me?" 

"I don't know Alara I really don't know and you shouldn't even be in here so you have absolutely no right to-" 

"You have no right to be watching this shit after a conversation with me and I had no right to break in here to hide from someone so neither of us is perfect and if anything this is way more damaging." She said. 

"I could write you up for using your security override code when you weren't supposed to." Ed threatened and got to his feet coming towards her. 

"And I could say that I heard a woman screaming in here and I had no choice but to go see what was going on." She countered and stepped towards him angrily showing no fear. He glared down at her and she glared back up at him. 

"Abuse of power," He growled. 

"Really? And you have no fantasies of that all on your own, Ed...?" 

"When I want to abuse my power over you, you'll fucking know it." He hissed. 

"Oh I'm so scared...you really think you could-" Before she could finish he grabbed her wrist and twisted it, it was literally so unexpected she had no time to react before he pulled her into a hungry kiss. She didn't resist it at all, she kissed him back just as hungrily, her free hand coming up to literally rip his shirt open before he let go of her wrist and she stumbled back, trying to catch her breath. "We can't do this..." 

"No...we can't," He agreed but before anything else could happen they were kissing each other again, she was ripping off the rest of his shirt before he shoved her back. She growled, she knew what he was feeling the whole notion they needed to stop but the primal drive to continue. If she was asked in the moment to say if she wanted this she didn't know what her answer would be because she knew it was wrong yet that's what made it so fucking arousing. "On your knees," 

"What?" She asked breathlessly. 

"ON YOUR KNEES!" He yelled and she found herself dropping to her knees before she could even question why she was doing it. Part of her felt like he was cheating, of course she was going to follow orders from her captain in such a commanding tone and as she opened her mouth to protest (despite not actual attempt to stand up again) he stepped in front of her. He was aroused, something she could clearly tell in those loose pajama pants of his. She looked up at him, this was so inappropriate but so fucking hot. 

"Sir," 

"That's right...call me Sir..." He purred and reached down to stroke her hair. Fuck it. That was all the motivation she even needed to easily slip his cock out of his pants and get it into her mouth. He groaned loudly and closed his eyes tilting his head back a bit. She felt him grip her hair, tug on it gently, trying to push her forward. Though she could have easily resisted this, and gotten out of his hold entirely, she found that she didn't want to. She actually liked this. What he'd said before about losing control. This wasn't control, this was the exact opposite and now she was seeing why he found this appealing. She'd have been lying if she said or thought that this wasn't always in the back of her mind. Finding someone who could dominate her, could best her, she liked the idea. The problem was that physically, no one could, at least not on this ship. However, mentally, he could. That commanding tone and that natural obedience trained into her because he was, ultimately her captain, he could. She liked it. A lot. She relaxed and let him take more control of her, his cock slipping in and out of her throat kind of roughly, causing her to gag. She looked up at him again, he was staring down at her. She shivered with pleasure. Tears spilling down over her cheeks and drool dripping down her chin and over her neck. Suddenly, he shoved her back. She whined. "Oh so now you want it? Huh? You little slut?" 

"Please..." She whispered trying to move towards him again, she didn't know what had taken over her, she'd never behaved like this before but it was so nice. Freeing almost. He shoved her back and she frowned. 

"On the bed, NOW!" He ordered and motioned to the bed. She didn't have to be told twice before scrambling up onto his bed as he wanted. He moved to kneel by her and shoved her onto her stomach, unzipping her dress from the back slowly. He parted the fabric and ran his hand over the skin of her back causing her to shudder again with pleasure. He yanked the dress down and off in a much stronger and far more fluid motion than she thought he could or would. He moved a bit, putting his hands on her hips and raising her up so her ass was in the air as he started to tug her panties down. "Fuck...you know how long I've wanted this?" 

"N-No Sir," She whispered and closed her eyes. She was aroused for him, more aroused than she believed she ever had been. Even her own fantasies weren't this good. Once he had her panties down to around her knees he slid a hand over her ass and gave it a firm slap. She yelped, not expecting that, and it was followed by another, then he was behind her and she could feel his cock rubbing over her aching wet cunt. Teasing her. She squealed. 

"Tell me how bad you want it," He demanded. 

"Please, sir...I want your cock I need it...I think about it all the time-" 

"Do you?" 

"Y-Yes sir...fuck...way more than is appropriate." She panted and it was the truth, she had no idea why she was admitting it to him or how he was getting this reaction out of her but she was beyond caring at that point. 

"I'm going to make you scream, bitch." He whispered before thrusting into her. She moaned loudly, her body reacting as she clenched around his cock and her eyes rolled back in her head. He started to pound into her fiercely, enough that it actually was causing a bit of pain which was surprising but not a complaint. She liked it, it really only enhanced the pleasure in a lot of ways and usually, no one could do this to her either. No human, that was. He was good at this, damn good and she started to rock back towards him trying to make everything even more intense. He was more vocal than she thought he'd be but she enjoyed that too, knowing he was getting as much pleasure from this as she was. 

"Oh God..." She breathed. 

"Thank your Captain for his cock." He ordered. 

"T-Thank you for..." 

"Fucking say CAPTAIN!" He ordered. Fuck that was hot. She whined and shivered under him, her orgasm already so close and she could imagine his was too with how fast he was moving. She swallowed hard and took in a deep breath. 

"Thank you...Captain...." She just barely managed to get out before she did quite literally scream as she climaxed. His hand was over her mouth a moment later, no doubt to muffle her as he climaxed as well. Both of them rocking hard enough that the bed ended up collapsing from where it was and breaking entirely, causing him to collapse on top of her. His weight was really no issue for her to carry and she was in too much bliss to want to move him. Besides, even if his weight might have been suffocating for a human of her size it wasn't to her. It was kind of comforting. He groaned softly and she was pretty sure he was going to doze off before he suddenly realized their current predicament and got to his feet, tripping over the debris left by the bed before catching his balance and fixing his pants. She chuckled softly. Quite a change from dominant Captain to bumbling idiot but it was rather endearing in any case. 

"Oh shit...we should not have done that I am so sorry with...all that stuff I said and-" 

"Ed, it's fine," She muttered before forcing herself to sit up, "I liked it, really, I mean I really shouldn't have as it's horribly unprofessional of me but God I haven't....not like that in....it's never been that good for me." 

"Me either," He said and laughed nervously, "Still, I shouldn't have said half those things to you about-" 

"Don't apologize, if anything I want more of that," She said and came over to him, her legs were a bit shaky. She grabbed her panties and gave him a kiss on the cheek, "I think you should be more worried about how you're going to explain what happened to the bed." 

"Shit..." 

"Yeah, I'm going to get cleaned up okay?" She asked. He pulled her into a hug and stroked her hair for a moment before nodding and letting her go. She hurried into the bathroom to get cleaned up. Though they were in quite the predicament now, especially over the bed situation, she didn't regret for a moment what they'd just done and hoped they'd be able to explore more things like this together in the near future. 


	2. Breath & Skin

"So uh your bed is broken," Alara said when she came out of the bathroom again. Ed nodded he was just standing there looking at it, didn't seem he'd made any sort of attempt to fix it or get it fixed. She came over to him and picked up her dress carefully from the debris and sighed. "Is there any good excuse for why this happened other than, well, me?" 

"Yeah that's the problem," He said, "I can't exactly admit it to anyone either but I kind of need a bed to sleep on. Well, I've passed out on the couch plenty of times so I mean I could do that for a while." 

"Eventually you'll have to tell someone your bed broke though," She said, "Maybe there's someone who can replace it in secret or we can just sit on this until we come up with a good excuse." 

"I'm thinking the second option," He laughed and put his arm around her. 

"You could always sneak into my room and share my bed," She offered and looked up at him. He smiled and stroked her hair gently. 

"As much as I would love that, I think it's too risky. All of this is. It's imperative that we act as normal as humanly possible going forward." He told her. 

"I definitely agree with that but...I mean are we-" 

"We can do more things if that's what you want and I mean, you're sure you want that...right?" He asked. She nodded. It wasn't going to be easy to keep it professional but she definitely could. It wasn't like she didn't already have a personal and professional relationship with most of the people on the crew. This would just be different because she was also going to be having sex with him. 

"Yeah just, can we keep it casual you know? Like maybe friends with benefits would be easier to also stay professional at work." She suggested. It wasn't that she didn't want to date him but she also didn't think getting her feelings tied up in him would be useful. It would at least be fun to explore this type of thing with him as friends and since they both trusted each other to a high level it would work out well. "We're going to need a safe word." 

"Right," he said, "Wait, how do you know so much about bondage?" 

"How do you?" She retorted. He laughed. 

"Okay fair enough," He said, "You want to decide?" 

"How about....Darulio?" She laughed. 

"Ouch," He snickered, "You really wanna do that because honestly, that would certainly get me to stop dead in my tracks. Probably worse than yelling Gordon's name during some kind of sexual activity." 

"Hey that's not nice I mean his awkward social graces are kind of endearing..." She chuckled. 

"Maybe someone should set you up with him then," Ed teased. 

"I'm definitely not saying that," She told him and punched him in his arm playfully, "I should probably get back to my room as much as I don't want to leave right now. You'll be okay right?" 

"I'm more worried about you, I mean...after care and all of that." He said. 

"I do appreciate the concern and the offer but I know how you feel about me and what we did and what you said during that well...it was just sex talk." She laughed, "If I ever need reassurance to that level or we get to having more intense sessions than just that we can discuss it." 

"We need to discuss things anyway. Limits. Boundaries...what we both absolutely don't want." He said. 

"I know," She sighed, "But now is not the time. How about we have dinner tomorrow, my room, and this time we'll try not to break the bed after. If it gets that far." 

"Sounds good." He said then leaned in and kissed her quickly on the lips. She kissed him back before parting from him and heading out of his room. She did feel bad that she broke his bed like that, well, they had played equal parts in it really. He was smart though, he'd come up with some excuse to cover his ass and get it fixed. At least she hoped, because if this whole situation got out to the wrong person it would be all over the ship in a matter of minutes. Neither of them needed for that to happen. 

* * *

The next shift on the bridge was mostly fine until she noticed Ed wouldn't stop staring at her. At first, it wasn't a huge deal but then Kelly commented on it. Though she asked him if he was upset or something so at very least the look didn't come across as horny or seductive. At least not to other people who were looking at it. She was getting annoyed with him. Maybe it was just easier for her not to look at him since she was faced away from the captain's chair when she was at her station. She didn't know. It was something that was going to have to stop, though, luckily they were having dinner with each other later. 

By the time he did arrive at her quarters, still in uniform, for dinner, she was fuming mad. Even Gordon had started to make comments and if they were going to do this they were going to have to be a lot less obvious about it. She was not in her uniform, she'd showered and changed, and was in a cute little black dress with matching heels. 

"What the hell was that?" She asked. 

"What was what?" Ed asked. 

"On the bridge, today, all shift?" She demanded, "Looking at me enough that everyone noticed, and I mean everyone. Gordon, oblivious to just about everything Gordon noticed." 

"Alara-" 

"No, this isn't appropriate or acceptable behavior." She told him. 

"Punish me," He said. She blinked a few times. Did he really just say that? She knew what capacity he meant it in but she was still surprised to hear it and that willingly too. She also couldn't say she was opposed to doing it because she kind of wanted to at that point. The only problem was, as much as she'd fantasized about being a dominant a time or two before she'd never actually done it. 

"Ed, you know I've thought about this but I don't exactly have experience so maybe-" 

"We have a safe word if you cross the line I'll tell you." He interrupted. 

"Okay but what exactly were you looking for here?" She asked. It wasn't like she didn't have any ideas of her own but if he was there, literally asking for it, then she assumed he must have something in mind as well and she didn't want to ruin any of his fantasies of her by not doing something right. 

"Be creative," he said, "Just you know, show a bit of restraint so I don't have to explain broken bones or bruises to people." She nodded and slapped him across the face, open-handed, and nothing that would bruise. It was hard enough to sting and get her point across, maybe a red mark, but that would fade by the time he left there anyway. 

"You fucked up," She said, "On the bridge like that and if I ever catch you doing it again then it'll be far worse." She gave him another slap then grabbed him by his arm and forced him over to the table where food was already sitting out. 

"Yes, Mistress," He muttered. 

"What?" She asked, "I'm sorry I couldn't hear that." 

"I said Yes Mistress," He repeated in a far more firm and confident tone of voice. She smiled. It was nice to hear that, very much so. Even better than her fantasies of it happening. It turned her on and it made her feel powerful. She forced him into his chair then sat down across from him and picked up her fork. 

"Eat," She snapped. 

"But I-" 

"Oh you just came in here and thought you were going to start calling shots, and I would fall on my knees and blow you like you're so fucking great is that it? No, we are having a nice dinner and you can wait to get off. If anything, you're not getting any type of release until you please me." She said. He let out a little bit of a strangled groan before he reached to pick up his fork. She grinned and began to eat as she watched him. He was squirming a bit, she could tell this was hard for him but he seemed to be enjoying it nonetheless. She only knew because she saw his hand slip down from the table and start to move back and forth slightly. "I know you aren't messing with your cock right now, eat your dinner." 

"But-" 

"But fucking nothing, Ed," She warned him. He whined again and moved his hand onto the table where she could see it as he continued to eat dinner. The effect she appeared to be having on him was intoxicating and she couldn't get enough of it. "So, let's talk about punishments here. What am I going to do with you so you learn to behave yourself?" 

"I don't know, Mistress," He said softly. 

"Let's see you said to be creative," She said. He nodded, "I think I could do that, but dinner first, then we'll worry about what your punishment is. Now, how was your day?" 

"What? You were there I-" 

"Are you really being a smart ass with me right now?" She asked him. 

"No Mistress," He said, "Uh well other than you know, the shift on the bridge where nothing happened, I uh...well there were some reports to file and you know, figure out how to get another bed. Still haven't come up with a good excuse for that." 

"I'm sure you'll think of something if you don't let all the blood rush to your cock for five minutes." She said. He nodded and looked down at his plate pushing food around for a moment before taking another bite. "You like this, don't you? Knowing I could literally pick you up and throw you across the room if I wanted to." 

"Oh...oh God yes," He breathed. "Do you want to?" 

"Sometimes I think I do, especially when you are being insufferably obnoxious but I don't think I actually would." She laughed, "Not unless you really pissed me off and were asking for it." 

"Understood, Mistress, but the idea is appealing you know." He said. 

"Very much so," She smiled and reached for her glass of wine, "We're going to have a lot of fun tonight, Ed. Just you and me." 

* * *

He finished his food a lot quicker than was anywhere near polite. Alara noticed this immediately and she could definitely tell that he was trying to speed things up so they could get to the sex part of the evening. Except, she wasn't going to let it work like that. If he wanted to learn control as well as be controlled then he was going to learn that she was in charge. At least for the night. She continued to eat at a normal pace while he kind of squirmed and made impatient noises. He wasn't even trying to have a conversation with her anymore. She looked up at him and grabbed her glass of wine. 

"Really, Ed? Did you honestly think that would work?" She asked after a moment of watching him. It was enjoyable to see him in such a worked up state but unable to do anything about it. Even if he decided to suddenly switch roles and try to dominate her she wasn't going to let him get away with it which was probably why he hadn't tried and why he also really liked this idea. He knew she wouldn't let him get his way and there was nothing to be done about it. 

"I was hungry," He said. 

"That's a lie," She replied. 

"Oh come on do you even know how I eat? It's not like we've ever had a meal together." He complained. She chuckled. 

"No, but I've seen you eating with other people and you don't eat like that, maybe you do when you're alone but not when you're supposed to be on a date or with friends." She said and took another bite of food followed by a sip of wine. She set the glass down again. "Get up." 

"What? Why?" 

"Get. Up." She said more firmly. He whined but got to his feet. She looked him over and slowly took another bite of food, chewed, then swallowed, and offered him a smile. "Strip." 

"Right here? Right now?" He asked. 

"Did I fucking stutter?" She asked him. He shook his head and quickly started to strip down. She was surprised it took so little arguing she assumed he'd try to protest more. He was naked in under 60 seconds but it wasn't extremely complicated to get out of his uniform anyway. He had a nice body and a very nice cock, which showed just how aroused he actually was. She chuckled to herself and went back to eating at a normal pace. 

"What? What now?" He demanded. 

"You know, Ed, the more you complain the slower I'm going to be. It's imperative you learn self-control anyway, especially after how you behaved on the bridge today." She told him, and as much as she was serious about that aspect of it, she was really getting a rush from bossing him around like this. The humiliation. The power. This was some of the best foreplay she'd ever had and absolutely no man had ever let her do this before. She was going to get as much as she could out of it. 

"Alara," 

"I'm sorry what was that?" She asked and stood up. Though in physical size she was a quite a bit smaller than him he already knew what kind of strength she had and even just standing up she felt like she was six feet tall. He must have sensed this because he took a step back from her. 

"Uh...um Mistress that's what I meant," He corrected himself quickly or at least tried to. She came towards him anyway and reached up to grab his ear pulling him down enough so that he was looking her in the eye. 

"That's what I thought," She said, "Fine, if this is how you want to behave I'm going to make you pay for it." She let go of his ear then grabbed his arm and dragged him out of there to the bedroom. Even if she was slightly annoyed they couldn't just have a normal date with normal dinner, she was too aroused to keep eating. It hadn't been easy to pretend she was more interested in the food than his cock. 

When they got to the bedroom she shoved him down onto the bed and ordered him to lay still, on his back. He easily complied and did as he was told as she began to strip out of her dress and the rest of her clothing. She kept the high heels on though. She wasn't sure why she did that because normally she wouldn't, but this time just felt right. When she was naked, except for the shoes, she got on the bed as well, straddling him so she could sit right above his cock on his abdomen letting him feel just how excited she was which caused a loud groan. 

"Please..." He whispered. 

"Oh now you're going to be a good boy?" She purred and stroked his cheek,her thumb coming down to trace his lips softly. "You think that's going to win you some favors?" 

"Yes?" He asked and looked hopeful. She gave him a nice slap across the face. Nothing that would leave a mark but definitely hard enough to sting. He cried out in surprised but amazingly she felt his hips jerk up and a groan of pleasure soon followed. "Did you fucking like that? Wow...you really are a pain slut aren't you?" She slapped him again, with the same results. He took in a gasp of air. 

"Thank you...Mistress." He panted. 

"For what?" 

"Teaching me how to behave," He replied. She smiled and lifted herself a bit, moving back she started to rub herself over his cock teasingly, very slowly, but she wasn't letting him penetrate her just yet even though it was incredibly hard to resist the temptation to do so. She watched him, as she worked her hips and felt how incredibly ready he was for her. He was starting to shake and his eyes were tightly closed. It was clear he was attempting not to orgasm prematurely. She put her hands on his chest, resting them there firmly, her nails digging into the skin a bit. 

"Look at me," She whispered. His eyes opened and looked into her. Only seconds later, he let out a strangled cry as he orgasmed, his eyes rolled back in his head and he let out an incredibly loud moan. She was pretty sure she'd never seen a man in so much pleasure and she'd have been insanely annoyed had she not also greatly enjoyed watching that. "Are you serious right now?" 

"Oh God....oh my God I'm...so sorry," He apologized breathlessly. 

"I bet you are, you forgot all about me you know," She warned him. 

"N-No...no I didn't I can fix this I will fix this, Mistress," He told her. Suddenly she was grabbed and their positions reversed. He probably only got away with this because she wasn't expecting him to do that at all and didn't have time to resist in a manner that he wasn't able to move her. 

"What are you doing?" She demanded. He didn't answer, instead he got between her legs and moved his mouth quickly to her waiting cunt. She gasped, then moaned. He was good at this, incredibly good. Fuck. She didn't think for one second Ed Mercer was even the type. As much as she liked him he really had never given her the impression that he was interested in pleasuring a woman in this way. She guessed she'd assumed that he'd only be good at it enough to get some foreplay going so he could actually have sex, but this was not that. He damn well knew what to do, how to use his mouth and tongue, and it was like he'd taken lessons. Extensively. "Oh my God, Ed!" She cried grabbing his hair tightly trying to push him in deeper. 

He kept going, working his tongue in ways she'd never felt before or expected to feel. She looked down at him, he seemed to be growling a bit, maybe, like some kind of animal. She had no idea why this got her going so hard, but it did, and considering she was right on edge when he'd started this whole process it didn't take much for her to climax. She screamed out in pleasure, her hips bucking up pretty wildly as she came. She didn't let go of his hair until she was done and relaxing back on her bed trying to catch her breath. The pleasure had been so intense she felt like she'd nearly passed out and now she was light-headed, a bit dizzy, but oh so satisfied by the experience. 

"Fuck..." She whispered. As she opened her eyes again, she saw him move to lay next to her on the bed a very smug grin on his face. His cheeks were still bright red from where he'd been struck. She smiled at him, "Why didn't you just start with that?" 

"You didn't ask," He laughed softly. She pulled him into a kiss and as he kissed back he pulled her into his arms, holding her close. She didn't want this moment or this night to end, despite an awkward bridge shift and a not too promising start to this date night, it had turned out amazingly. She was pretty sure that things were only going to get better from here, as long as they could learn to control themselves when they were actually on duty. 


	3. Falling Apart

A few days later they were docked at a Union station for resupply and general maintenance on the ship. Alara was spending time in her room reading when she was contacted by the captain asking her if she'd come to his office. She obliged and pulled her uniform jacket on before zipping it up and heading out of there. She didn't have a clue as to what he wanted but it also didn't sound urgent so she didn't really hurry herself to get there either. The last person she was expecting to see when she entered was a counselor, or at least, her uniform denoted that's what she was. Though some time had passed without her or Ed having any sort of sexual encounter, she hadn't thought that it affected him so badly to be dominated by her that he needed them to both see a therapist. Alright, maybe that wasn't it. She was jumping to conclusions. She smiled at the woman and nodded before looking at Ed. 

"You wanted to see me, Captain?" She asked. 

"Uh yes, this is Lieutenant Lila Daniels. She's going to be on the ship just until we get to the next station. Offering free psych evaluations and screenings for any of the crew that feels they need the help. Just routine stuff, but I need you to get her into the computers and make sure she has clearance to get to the areas she needs to go." Ed explained. Well, that was better than she expected, a lot better. She was able to breathe a sigh of relief at that point even though she hoped that no one noticed that was what she was doing. She looked back at Lila and offered a smile then held out her hand. Lila took it and gave it a firm shake. "Lila this is Lieutenant Kitan, our chief of security." Alara shot Ed a glare but he didn't even seem to notice it with how he was looking at this new woman.  _Since when are you on a first name basis with her?_

"Nice to meet you," Alara quickly recovered and cleared her throat. "If you come with me I'll get you clearance and find a place for you to stay while you are here." 

"Thank you," Lila said and stood up, "I'll be seeing you later then, Ed?" 

"Yeah, sounds good," Ed said and smiled at her almost goofily. Alara knew that was supposed to be the smile he thought was flirty but it just made him kind of look like a dork. What had they been talking about before she'd gotten in there? Why were they seeing each other later? Clearly, it wasn't for a counseling session because Ed would have wanted to keep that confidential. He was her commanding officer, kind of, just for the time being. Though really they weren't anything to each other. She was just assigned to the crew for psych evaluations and screenings not because she was actually now positioned on The Orville. It was temporary. This gave Ed pretty free rein to date her or anything else he wanted. She was kind of kicking herself now for suggesting that she and Ed just have a "friends with benefits" thing because she was seeing how jealous she could get just at the thought of him with another woman. 

"So, Lt. Kitan, you're Xelayan?" Lila asked. Alara resisted the urge to roll her eyes at a comment that was clearly just trying to make polite conversation. She couldn't have asked something better than that? 

"Yeah," Alara said, "And you can just call me Alara since everyone is apparently on a first name basis here." She gave Ed a look and he finally caught her eyes. In that moment, it became clear he realized what her problem was suddenly and he looked away from her. 

"Sounds good," She said, "I didn't mean anything I'm just surprised by it because-" 

"I know why you were surprised it's okay." Alara laughed softly, hoping it didn't sound too forced. "Just, right this way and we'll get you all settled in." She started to head out of there just assuming Lila would follow her. She didn't know why she was so angry, the relationship was supposed to be casual between her and Ed. She was even the one who had suggested that they kept it that way. However, now that she saw the possibility of something else happening, it wasn't sitting well with her and she wasn't sure how much she'd be able to control these feelings. As far as she was concerned she had Ed before this woman, and without considering what their relationship might even be, she was just going to have to make clear to Ed what her feelings were. If she could. Maybe she was overreacting. Ed was kind of flirty with a lot of people and sometimes he mistook that for being friendly. There was no need to jump to conclusions before she figured out what was really happening.  "So do you already know Ed? You two seem kind of friendly." 

"Hmmm? Oh yeah, I knew him in the academy. He's a pretty great guy." Lila replied, "Was at his wedding too. Shame what happened though." 

"Yeah. Shame." Alara said, "He seems to get along well enough with Kelly now, though, considering they have this working relationship together now." 

"That's good," She replied, "It's always great when people can kind of get through a tough spot and learn to be friends again." Alara didn't like that this woman had such a history with Ed. She wondered whose bright idea it was to put her on this ship, specifically, but then again, they did have Ed working with his ex-wife and she was a permanent member of the crew. Lila was not going to stay that way. It was only temporary, it would only be temporary, she would leave and Ed would lose focus on this again. She would just have to make sure he didn't get too much alone time with Lila without being suspicious about it and it would be over within a week. At least she could only hope. 

* * *

A little while later they had departed from the station they had docked at and Alara was heading to the mess hall to get some food. She went over to one of the replicators to get her meal when Gordon called to her. She turned to look where he was and she saw him sitting with John and they were eating as well. She could tell they were eating pizza and she didn't want to answer questions about any weird Xelayan food, because they'd ask a ton, so she replicated herself two slices of it as well as a glass of lemonade and headed over to them. 

"Pizza? Really?" Gordon asked. 

"It looked good," She said, "Did you need something?" 

"Yeah check it out," Gordon said and motioned across the room to where Ed was having his own meal with Lila in a back, lower lit corner of the mess hall. They were kind of leaned in close to each other. Alara frowned, but luckily she wasn't facing Gordon or John when she made that face so they didn't see it and by the time she looked back at them she had a more neutral expression on her face. 

"So?" She asked and sat down. 

"Well, we're taking bets on how quickly Kelly gets jealous." John said, "You wanna get in on this?" 

"Kelly's with Cassius I don't think she'll care too much, so if I'm betting I'm going to bet on never," Alara told them and then picked up a slice of pizza. "Besides I think they are just old friends anyway." 

"Who told you that?" Gordon laughed, "They totally dated in the academy before he met Kelly. If you ask me, she was a better match for him. Wonder why it never worked out." 

"It may work out now," John said. Alara was suddenly aware of pain in her hand, mostly because at some point she'd grabbed a fork on the table and had crushed it and now the metal was poking into her skin. Luckily, neither of these two noticed that so she slipped her hand under the table and took a deep breath. 

"Maybe, guess we'll have to see," Alara said, "Why do you care, anyway?" 

"Why not? There's not much else to do on this ship and she's hot." Gordon said. Alara laughed softly, of course, Gordon would think she was hot but he thought a lot of people were hot. Not that she was trying to judge him but it seemed a lot of times he was just so starved for sex or attention his standards weren't too high, which wasn't a bad thing, but it did also lower his judgment which was definitely a bad thing for him and everyone around him. 

"I don't know man her torso is kind of weird," John said. 

"What? What the hell is wrong with her torso?" Gordon snapped suddenly sounding very defensive like Lila was his girlfriend. 

"Like it seems too long for her body somehow like out of proportion to the rest of her," John replied. 

"That's your complaint? Her torso is weird? Didn't you date a girl with two heads?" Gordon asked him. 

"Yeah, but both of their heads were beautiful and in proportion to the rest of their bodies," John insisted. 

"Well," Alara said, "As charming as this conversation has been I think I'm going to go catch up on some work I have to do. You two have fun." She grabbed her tray of food and got up, leaving before either one of them could try to get her back. At least they were too focused on themselves to realize how annoyed she actually was by this situation. She hurried out of there hoping no one would try to talk to her or stop her because she was in a very bad mood. She made it all the way to the lift when she heard Ed's voice. 

"Alara!" 

"Shit," She whispered, "Computer-uh...hold doors..." She was about to tell the computer to close them but Ed was within her visual range by the time she started to speak and she knew that if he heard her say that he was going to be upset with her, or at very least question why she'd done that. He got on the lift and moments later the doors shut. It was just the two of them, her holding the tray of food in one hand and the crushed up fork in her fist down by her side. 

"What do you think of Lila?" He asked. 

"She seems...nice." Alara said trying to make it sound as natural as possible. To be fair, if she hadn't had feelings for Ed she would have actually thought this woman was nice. She seemed warm and friendly and Gordon wasn't wrong about her being attractive, not that it mattered to her personality. Still, she was fine. The only issue was the jealousy which Alara was well aware clouded her own personal judgement. 

"So you don't mind if me and her-" 

"What?" Alara asked, "Go on a date or something?" 

"It's just that I knew her from back in the academy and we dated and...well her parents didn't like me very much so it ended kind of painfully. Then I found Kelly and I think the whole ship knows how that ended." He said and laughed nervously, "Guess I'd like to give it another try, since you know...you wanted to keep it casual between us. Right? It's for the best." 

"Yes," She said, feeling the pain shoot through her arm as she crushed the fork into her hand even more. There was warmth and liquid as she started to bleed. Everything in her was screaming to just tell Ed that she liked him too and maybe she had been wrong about keeping this whole thing casual and they should date each other but the words weren't coming out. She could just feel herself digging into this hole deeper and deeper, not wanting to admit to him that she was wrong and she couldn't control her feelings. "But I guess if you date her then we can't well...do our thing." 

"Yeah that'll be kind of hard," He said, "It's really fun." 

"It's up to you then." She shrugged as if this were no big deal. He nodded and the doors opened to her deck level. She stepped out of there. 

"I think I'll give this a shot, uh...but you know if it doesn't work out we can still have some fun." He said followed by another nervous chuckle. She didn't like this and she wanted to turn and tell him that she wasn't some type of second choice to run to when his real-life failed but she didn't. Instead, she just turned and smiled at him giving him a nod. 

"Alright well, good luck and let me know how it goes." She said. The doors shut and she hurried into her room. She placed the tray of food onto the table angrily then uncurled her fist to see how bad the damage was. It was bad. A bunch more blood pooled up to the surface and then dripped down onto the table and the floor. She sighed and pulled the crumpled and pointy metal from her hand before walking over to the replicator. She needed to bandage this up and then probably get to sickbay just in case. She didn't have any idea how she'd explain why this happened yet but that only made her think of Ed's bed. As far as she knew it was still broken and that meant he at least couldn't do anything with Lila in his quarters for a while. A smirk crossed her face, it did complicate things and if if people saw him going into her room then it would cause a stir. Maybe this wouldn't be too bad after all. In the mean time, she was going to have to find a way to break up the romance before it could start. She just didn't have the first clue on how to do that yet. 


	4. A Little Crime

Alara was pacing her room angrily for enough time that she failed to realize how badly the fork had dug into her palm until she got a message alert from her communicator and was jerked out of her angry haze. She opened her fist and looked down, only to see how bad the damage actually was. There was a lot of blood and she frowned. There was no way she was going to be able to explain why she'd done this to Claire but she figured she could just use a dermal wand to heal the injury and not report it. Wasn't like she didn't have one in her bathroom with the rest of her basic first aid stuff. She hurried in there and healed her hand quickly before tossing what was left of the fork into the disposal system for the ship. She washed the blood off of her hand and arm then went to grab her communicator. Though she'd been hoping it was a message from Ed, it was just one from Dann telling her how much he thought they connected and how badly he wanted to see her again. 

"It's been two days give it up," She hissed angrily to herself before tossing the communicator onto the coffee table and sitting down on her couch. After taking a moment to compose herself and swallow down her rage so she wouldn't end up accidentally smashing something, she got up and walked over to the food synthesizer. She ordered herself a shot of Xelayan tequila and downed it quickly, then pulled her jacket off and headed into her bedroom. She knew she needed to relax and do it quickly. It was stupid of her to tell him they were just keeping it casual. Friends with benefits. All of that was stupid. She should have said something in the lift, she should have told him she was not okay but she also knew better than that. He wasn't technically allowed to be with her anyway given the fact she was on his senior staff. It was better this way and logically she knew that but emotionally, it was breaking her heart. She wasn't sure how she'd keep her head straight when her heart was a mess. 

* * *

The next morning, when she woke up, she felt kind of off. Not enough that she thought she needed to go to sickbay, but something also seemed abnormal. She chalked it up to being tired and utterly depressed about the fact that she hadn't spoken up soon enough to be able to keep Ed. If that woman and him had dated before, and it really had ended to no fault of Ed's own, there was more of a chance that it would work out now. Seemed like both of them were in a better position to try, as they were older, and Alara was guessing that Lila didn't have to mind what her parents said as much anymore. She had a career and was pretty established in it. Seemed confident too. Good at what she did, at least, if she made it to the rank she was at. Not to mention she was a counselor or psychiatrist or something. Alara hadn't really cared to specifically check into her credentials. She was going by the name Lieutenant Daniels but that didn't mean she wasn't a medical doctor. It was possible she focused more on counseling than...why did it even matter? She'd be better off not trying to think about this woman at all. 

The next few days she was intent on avoiding everyone as much as possible while also not looking too suspicious about it. Lila was only going to be on the ship for a finite number of days anyway and since Ed was clearly more invested in his new love interest than her, it would at least be easy to avoid him. Kelly had her new boyfriend as well and John and Gordon were always doing something or other together. She wasn't lonely, nor did she feel like she didn't have friends, but she also didn't usually go out of her way to hang out with everyone, so it was going well as no one really noticed that she was kind of ignoring people. 

One evening, after her bridge shift, she was contacted by Lila asking to speak with her. She was still feeling like crap but she was also still only chalking it up to the fact that she was emotionally wrecked by this situation that she really couldn't confide in anyone about. She accepted Lila's request and invited in. 

"So, time for our your assessment it's the last one I have," Lila said as she walked in. 

"Me?" She asked, "Thought these were voluntary." 

"Not for the senior crew," Lila replied, "Or did Ed not tell you about that?" Alara sighed, she didn't know if that was done on purpose by him or not, and she should have really checked into this herself but she hadn't because she'd been trying to keep her mind off of it. 

"No I...it's fine, have a seat." She said and motioned to her couch, "Can I get you anything?" 

"I'm fine," Lila said, "Going to be having dinner after this so don't want to ruin my appetite or anything." 

"I'm sure you don't," Alara said and went to sit down nearby, "Won't take long then?" 

"Not at all," Lila said, "So, how are things going here on The Orville?" 

"Fine," She said, "No real problems of note. We've had a few minor incidents with minor things that were taken care of promptly and all of that can be found in my official reports and notes. Otherwise, I'd say it's a pretty average and mostly boring starship. Unless we are on away missions and I'm getting shot at." 

"Right," Lila smiled, "How do you feel about your relationship with your Captain?" 

"Hmm? Excuse me? What are you implying?" She asked, feeling herself getting way more wound up than she normally would with a question like that. Even if she was keeping a secret, typically she had a better poker face. Now? Something was wrong, she felt her face getting hot. Abnormally so. 

"Nothing?" Lila said, looking concerned, "He's your commanding officer just wanted to get your thoughts on that." 

"Why?" She growled. 

"Because I ask everyone what they think of their Captain," Lila replied slowly. Alara blinked a few times, trying to find a way to compose herself when it suddenly felt like her head was on fire. She let out a pained cry and gripped her forehead tightly. It was like someone had put her skull in a giant vice and was attempting to crush it to a pulp. "Lieutenant Daniels to sickbay, we have a situation." Alara glanced up at her, everything had gone grey, started to look like it was melting around her. Was this a nervous breakdown? Worse? 

"D-Don't...I...I'm okay..." She managed to get out, but it didn't matter much because a few moments later her vision tunneled and she collapsed to the floor as everything became completely black. 

* * *

"...but what's wrong with her I mean what caused this?" She heard a voice saying, sounded like it was coming from underwater. Her eyes opened and she looked around. She was in some kind of medical room, appeared to be on a starship, but she didn't know what ship or how she'd even gotten there. She saw a man, his uniform indicated he was a captain, standing next to a woman who's uniform indicated she was some kind of doctor. Next to her was a woman wearing a uniform that indicated she was a counselor. What the hell had happened here? They didn't seem to notice she was awake so she tried to just listen. 

"I don't know," The doctor said, "As far as I can tell it's an infection, when and where she picked it up, I have no idea, and this isn't...we don't have a cure for it here. It would have to be picked up it can't be synthesized." 

"Nothing is coming up on scans?" The captain asked. 

"No," Replied the doctor, "The infection is far too advanced, I can stop it, and reverse it, but without the proper medications it'll be a very slow process and the longer we take to get rid of it the worse it's going to make her." 

"Hey!" she snapped, getting kind of frustrated at the fact they were talking about her and not to her, "What's going on? Where am I? Why am I restrained?" 

"Alara..." The captain said and came towards her quickly. That name sounded like it was kind of familiar but still not right. She had a feeling these people were her friends but at the same time, she thought they were dangerous. Her head still hurt like crazy. 

"Get back!" She snapped before being able to stop herself. The captain stopped where he was and didn't get any closer. 

"That's what happened when I tried to get a blood sample for further analysis. I tried sedating her and that didn't end well either." The doctor said, "Not sure how to handle this but I can tell you that it is very indicative of a specific type of brain infection caused by bacteria found in a certain type of alien cheese." 

"Nothing like that is permitted on the ship, unless it can be synthesized. Even then the bacteria would be harmless and-" 

"Not unless someone snuck it on board," the doctor said, "Not like we haven't had that issue before." 

"Okay, what the hell is going on?" She demanded, "I don't want to hurt you, any of you, that's not my intent at least and I'm aware something is wrong with me even if I'm not sure what but could you please give me a much better explanation than guessing?" 

"My apologies, sincerely, but, we don't have much better than guessing," The doctor said, "Do you remember your name? Know where you are right now?" 

"No," She replied, "If I did do you think I'd be so angry?" 

"Your name is Alara Kitan," The captain said, "I'm Captain Ed Mercer, your captain, and you are chief of security on the USS Orville. Does any of that sound familiar?" 

"Not at all," She said, which terrified her because she really didn't doubt they were telling the truth. The situation would be entirely different if they were, she wouldn't be in sickbay if she was a prisoner to someone, she'd be in a cell. They also probably wouldn't care too much about attempting to cure her. 

"Alara, I'm Doctor Finn, Claire Finn," The doctor told her, "I think the infection is triggering the more aggressive and primitive side of your brain. Messing with your flight or fight response. That's the only reason you are restrained. I believe it's reflex you are unable to control right now." 

"Yeah..." She said slowly she could definitely feel it somehow, maybe just sense it, but the doctor wasn't wrong about that. She also really didn't want to hurt any of them. Even if she didn't remember who they were, she had a strong sense that they were friends and they wanted to help her. That this was the truth, "It's doing something to my memory too. Is that...part of it?" 

"Yes," Claire said, "There's considerable brain swelling, there's going to be a lot of problems." 

"What's the last thing you remember before you woke up in here?" The third woman spoke up finally after standing there observing the whole time. Alara looked at her, something about this woman made her angry but she wasn't sure why. As she came up behind Ed, she felt her blood begin to boil. 

"DON'T TOUCH HIM!" She yelled. The woman stepped back quickly. 

"Woah, Alara..." Ed said, "This is Lila, she's temporary on the ship as a counselor, she won't hurt you either." 

"I don't like her," 

"Doc is there anything about maybe the verbal filter on her brain being part of this?" Ed asked. Alara was aware that wasn't the nicest thing for him to say but at the same time, she was definitely getting a weird sense of being completely unable to control any sort of her impulses. This was whether it was to speak or attack people. 

"Yes," Claire said, "We need to change course and get medical attention for her at once, stuff I can't do myself on here. I can't synthesize a cure for real bacteria, possibly even a parasite. I don't have the right equipment to treat this. We have to get her to a medical outpost or an actual hospital." 

"What do we do until then?" Ed asked, "I don't feel right treating her as a prisoner when she can't help any of this. She's sick, not a criminal." 

"Yeah..." Alara agreed, "But I don't want to hurt anyone." 

"I'm going to give her another course of antibiotics, they'll take a while to work," Claire said and looked at Alara, "They should help with the brain swelling at very least and make you far more rational. Bring back some of your memories and impulse control. Okay?" 

"Please, do it, even if I yell at you not to touch me or something," Alara said. She didn't want to die this way it seemed like a horrible way to go. She wanted treatment and she knew it, no matter how upset her primitive side was about it. She would beat this and she'd get better because she had to. Even if the only reason she could think of at the moment was that she was supposed to protect the captain despite not being able to recall anything about him. 

"I'll go make the arrangements to head towards the nearest medical base," Ed said, "I'll be back soon. I promise." 

"Thank you, Sir," Alara said only because she knew it was the right thing to say. The look he gave her next was one not only concern but of love. Even if she didn't know what their relationship was like she could tell, in that moment, just from the look in his eyes. He nodded at her and turned, leaving quickly. Lila left shortly after. There was a sudden sting in her neck as she was injected with something. Claire had seemingly taken the moment of distraction to do what she needed to do. She turned and looked at her, "Thank you for this and for putting up with me." 

"It's my job, and I'm not putting up with it, I'm taking care of you." Claire said, "Try to get some rest I'll be back in to check on you shortly." 

"Alright," Alara said and tried to get comfortable even though she was restrained. It could have been worse but she knew she was in the best, most capable hands possible. She'd be taken care of and back to her normal self in no time. At very least she could hope that would be the case because she really wanted to know what the hell happened here. Not only why Ed was looking at her like that but how she'd gotten infected with something this bad in the first place. It was her mind that held the clues and right now, it was mostly blank. 


	5. Who Do You Love?

_"You've been a naughty girl," He grinned as he approached her, "Speaking that way to me in front of the rest of the crew."_

_"But sir, I,"_

_"But nothing, you damn well know what you did," He cut her off before shoving her into the wall and pinning her there tightly. Despite the fact that normally she was more than able to fight him off she couldn't this time but then again, she didn't even want to. She'd never seen him like this and it was driving her crazy._

_"I just don't think-"_

_"No one told you what to think. I'm in charge here..." He chuckled darkly and backhanded her across the face before pulling her into a rough kiss. She kissed him back just as hungrily, his arms wrapping around her as he pulled her close. Her moans were muffled by his mouth as she tried to press up against him. She could feel just how aroused he was and it was intoxicating. He picked her up and carried her to the bed before dropping her on it roughly. "Get undressed. Now."_

_"Y-Yes sir..." She whispered and started to undress herself quickly, her hands and body shaking in the arousal and anticipation of what was to come next. She absolutely loved when he took control of her like this and she wasn't going to slow it down for a minute if she could help it. He stood there, watching her, as she hurried to obey his command like she no longer had any free will. Once she was naked, he joined her on the bed, easily pushing her back and pinning her there with one hand. The other moved between her legs, his fingers teasing her cunt expertly. She cried out in pleasure._

_"You really think you're going to be rewarded for this?" He whispered in her ear before moving his mouth to her neck. He kissed the skin there, then nipped at it, moving down along her shoulder as two of his fingers slipped into her and started to work in and out of her wet hole. She mewled softly and wiggled under him, spreading her legs more to allow him better access._

_"N-No sir I-"_

_"Shut your fucking mouth you pretty bitch you're mine now." He breathed._

* * *

Alara woke with a gasp, her eyes opening wide in an instant. She glanced around, feeling almost as if anyone who was in there would somehow know about the dream she just had and start making accusations. The weird thing was, she didn't know if that was some kind of dream or a memory of something that had actually happened. It wouldn't be a good idea to start asking questions about it either because that was something that would put her on thin ice pretty quickly. Her head hurt, but she was somewhat aware that the level of pain was an improvement to how it had felt earlier even if she also didn't have much memory as to how she felt earlier. Nor could she remember how she'd gotten in sickbay or why she was there. She especially couldn't remember why she'd been restrained. 

"Doctor Finn?" she called, hoping that someone would answer her and quickly because she really had to pee. A few moments later, Claire came in through the door and walked over to her, "Why am I restrained? What happened?" 

"You have a considerable brain infection and we've been treating you for it here," Claire told her, "How are you feeling now?" 

"Better, I guess...can't really remember how I was feeling before though if I'm being honest." She sighed and closed her eyes, "So, about the restraints...?" 

"Your brain was swelling and it was causing some unpredictable and dangerous behavior," Claire told her. With how her head hurt and how fuzzy her memory was she could only assume that she was being told the truth even if she had no memory of any events in which she was acting that way or putting people in danger. She knew that Claire had no reason to lie to her. The only problem was...when the hell did she get a brain infection that would cause something like this to happen? 

"Okay, but can you let me up? I need to pee." She replied. 

"So you remember now? What happened?" Claire asked. Alara opened her eyes and looked in the doctor's direction. She seemed cautious as she approached, like she thought something would happen. What the hell was going on here and what had she done to constitute such behavior in the first place? 

"I actually remember almost nothing other than, well, waking up here." She said, "I don't know why you are so terrified of me I'm not...whatever happened I'm okay now. Please just let me up." Claire got closer slowly, and she waited, trying to stay calm, even though the anger inside of her felt abnormally high and she wanted to start screaming to be let up. It was hard to convince herself to stay calm and wait, but she managed to do it for a very long while until her restraints were released. Once she'd gotten her way, she felt immediately better and the anger died down considerably. 

"You're going to need to be monitored," Claire said. 

"By who? I'm the chief of security still, right?" She asked and sat up. Swinging her legs over the side of the table she hopped down quickly, then suddenly felt dizzy and nauseous and had to stop herself from moving any further. She leaned against the table for support and closed her eyes, trying to steady herself and catch her breath. Her head was pounding and her heart was beating so fast she thought it might explode. All of her physical symptoms certainly lined up with what Claire was telling her but it didn't explain why or how. "What even happened to get me like this?" 

"You are still chief of security, technically," Claire told her, "You aren't exactly fit for duty right now. We need to get you to a medical outpost for treatment." 

"What? Why?" She asked, "Why can't you do anything here?" 

"It's...complicated." Claire said, "If you need to use the facilities feel free but I'll need you to come right back here when you are done, do you need any help?" She took a step forward and Alara felt the rage well up inside of her again so she shook her head quickly and stood up straight. It wasn't easy, she felt incredibly weak but she also doubted she was anywhere near actually weak by human standards so she didn't want to risk the doctor getting too close and getting hurt. She also didn't want to reveal she was having these violen urges because she didn't want to be restrained again. 

"I'll be fine," She whispered and headed in the direction of the bathroom. It wasn't easy, and every step she took made her feel like she was going to collapse but finally she made it in there and was able to at least lean against the counter for support. She used the bathroom and washed her hands after, taking her time to splash some cold water over her face. She looked into the mirror and realized how bad she looked. Her skin was far more pale than normal and her eyes were dull and dark. they looked almost black. She stared at her reflection for and unknown amouht of time, her vision starting to tunnel, until she heard a voice outside of the door. It was Ed. 

"Alara?" 

"I'm fine," She called back reflexively. Unlike when Claire was talking to her and the rage began to rise, she wasn't feeling that way hearing his voice. Which was good, she hoped. 

"You've been in there an abnormally long time," He said. "Door is locked, seems you used your security protocol to do it." 

"I did?" She asked and walked to the door. Indeed, the lock was in place and the only one who could have put it there was her, but she didn't know when she'd done anything like that. This was extremely frustrating. Not only being treated like she was a child but on top of that, she was doing things without having any memory of doing them. She entered the code to manually unlock the door and it opened. Ed was standing there looking concerned. "See, I'm fine, despite the fact that I locked the door for some reason." 

"I can see that," He said. She attempted to offer him a smile but it didn't work out too well and as she exited the bathroom, she suddenly felt too weak to stand up. Her knees buckled and she began to fall. He caught her easily enough, to prevent that, and she wrapped her arms around him tightly for support. This feeling of being so incredibly weak was very new to her and it was terrifying, but in the same way it was reassuring. It meant that despite her rage and her odd sense of paranoid with additional memory lapses, there was no possible way she could hurt anyone, right? 

"Can I please just go to my room?" She asked softly, "I think I'd get far more rest if I was allowed to be in my own bed." She looked up at him, pleading for him to say it was okay. She didn't want to be stuck in sickbay and she especially didn't want to be restrained again. Claire approached and she felt herself tense up, fear and anger washed over her, so did some intense need to protect the captain at all costs even if she also knew this was just the doctor who was trying to help her. 

"Easy there...little tight," Ed told her. 

"Sorry," She whispered and forced herself to relax enough that she wouldn't risk hurting him as she allowed herself to be scanned by Claire. It seemed okay, as long as he was there. He'd keep her safe and she'd take care of him, and that was the only thought that allowed her to remain calm enough to be scanned. 

"She has a very high fever but other than locking herself in the bathroom like that, I don't see why she can't return to her room if she's monitored." Claire said, "She's not going to walk there herself, though, I can tell you that much." 

"I'll take her," Ed said, "It'll be fine. We are only a few days from the medical outpost. Can treatment be administered in her room? Might make things easier." 

"Yes, I can stop by a few times a day to keep up with her antibiotics," Claire said. Alara breathed a sigh of relief. Just hearing that she would be allowed to go back to her own room to rest and wait out the rest of the trip to this medical outpost made her feel a thousand times better than the idea of having to stay in sickbay to be constantly scanned, poked, and prodded at. "Are you in any pain?" 

"My head really, really hurts, but...other than that, no." She replied. 

"I can give you something for that, if you want," Claire told her. She didn't know if she did or didn't want it, but she supposed that if anything could help how badly her head was pounding she'd be stupid to turn it down. Ed wrapped his arm around her for support and moved her back towards the bed she'd been laying on before. He let go of her and she leaned against it, trying to catch her breath, even that little of movement had her feeling like she wanted to pass out. Claire injected her with something and her head immediately felt better, the downside was that she also now felt kind of intoxicated. 

"Woah..." She laughed softly, "That...that must have been the good stuff." 

"I don't think it was uncalled for considering how bad off you are." Claire said, "You feel better then?" 

"Much...thank you." She whispered, blinking a few times and looking around the room. It felt like a weight was lifted off her chest and she didn't feel nearly as anxious or enraged as before. 

"Alright, let's get you back to your room then," Ed said. 

"If you need anything, don't hesitate to contact me." Claire said, "I'll be in to check on her in a few hours otherwise." 

"Thanks, Doctor," Ed replied. He put his arm around her again, to offer her support, and she leaned into him heavily so she'd be able to walk and also make it out of there. Though part of her was concerned about other members of her crew seeing her this way, there was a much bigger part of her that didn't give a shit because of whatever drugs she'd just been given. 

"Yeah...thanks doc. See you later." She grinned stupidly as Ed got her out of sickbay and into the corridor. They had only just made it to the lift when she was unable to stop herself from asking him the most burning question on her mind. "So are we fuck buddies or what's going on with that? Was that just a dream?" The words fell out of her mouth beyond her ability to control it or consider how absurd they sounded. 

"Uh..." Ed looked around quickly, no doubt wondering if the crewman who had just passed had heard that or not before getting her onto the lift and quickly ordering it to take them to her deck, "No that wasn't just a dream...or well I guess it depends on what the dream was but yes we've been having uh...encounters of an intimate nature. Don't remember that either, huh?" 

"I don't know most of what's going on here." Alara said and looked up at him, "When did the whole sex thing start?" 

"About a week ago, we only met twice to...do that stuff before all of this happened." He said. She frowned. Seemed like kind of a bummer that she'd only got to fuck him twice, had no memory of it...possibly, and now she had a brain infection that seemed like it was threatening to kill her. Great. That was just her luck. She finally got to do something with the captain, who she'd wanted to do something with since the moment she'd laid eyes on him, and it was immediately going to hell. 

"Oh," She replied, becoming aware a moment later she was suddenly in her own bed and he was sitting on the side of it just staring at her like he was expecting her to say something or had just asked her a question. 

"There you are," He chuckled nervously, "You kind of zoned out there for a while." 

"Yeah....must have," She whispered, "Don't remember how we got from sickbay to here but, thank you for getting me to my room sir." 

"It's my job to take care of you not only as your captain but as your friend," He said then took her hand in his and gave it a firm squeeze. She looked him in the eyes and how he was looking at her, it denoted far more than just friendship feelings. She sat up a bit, even though it took her a moment due to how weak she was and leaned in closer to him. 

"Are you sure that's all we are?" She asked softly. 

"That's all you wanted to be," He replied, "I didn't think it was right to push." 

"Wait...I'm the one who...that's what happened?" She asked. 

"Yeah, you said to keep it casual. Friends with benefits. I mean, it wasn't what I'd hoped for but I felt it was better than nothing and I didn't want to pressure you into something you ultimately weren't interested in." He said. She didn't think he was lying but at the same time she didn't have any real recollection of that conversation. Still, it definitely seemed like her to want to keep him at arm's length to avoid her true feelings for him and possibly some kind of rejection. It was what she'd always done. 

"I was wrong," She whispered. 

"Hell of a time for you to tell me that," He smirked. 

"Yeah well I might be dying." She sighed and then laid back down and closed her eyes, "May never get a chance to tell-" 

"Don't say that, you are not going to die. We will be at the medical outpost in two days and everything will be fine." Ed insisted, "Claire even says this isn't a super rare infection it's just dangerous. Something about bacteria from cheese, maybe yogurt-" 

"But those things are banned from the ship." Alara muttered, "Even if they weren't I don't eat anything like that so how would it have affected me?" 

"I don't know," Ed said, "We have yet to fill in the blanks on that one but Claire said your memory will come back as you recover. Doesn't matter anyway, as long as we know what the problem is." 

"True, but if someone did bring unauthorized food on this ship and was eating it in a manner that it infected someone else, we need to find out who." She said then yawned, her eyes starting to close. She was exhausted and could barely keep her energy up. "Maybe send out a ship wide announcement, tell everyone why I'm sick, if they have any conscience at all they'll just fess up. At least I should hope." 

"Not a bad idea," Ed said, "But for now, I'm going to stay here with you while you rest. I won't be far. If you need me to get you something just ask." 

"Thank you," She said then offered a weak smile. It didn't take long for her to doze off after that, with the hope that maybe a bit more of her memory would be back after a nap. That was all that she could hope for and definitely what would be best for everyone on the crew. 


	6. Ghost Of You

As much as she'd fantasized about it, she'd never actually been in a bondage dungeon before. Apparently, Ed had, which was good in a lot of ways because she didn't know what to do in here. He did. It was a simulation he'd somehow gotten made, he wouldn't say how. She suspected that it had something to do with Gordon but if that were the case, and it probably was, it meant Ed had bought his silence somehow. She was grateful for it, in any case, but now she was restricted to being the submissive until she could learn everything. Not that she minded. She smiled at him after taking her initial look around. 

"This is great," She said, "Never actually been in one, seen videos and stuff but guess I was a bit too nervous to try to visit one. Besides, not like I ever knew anyone who was into this sort of thing either. Someone who could teach me." 

"Well, looks like that problem is solved." Ed replied, "Like your dress, by the way, it's perfect." 

"You think?" She asked. The one she had worn was somewhere in between slutty and formal. Nice enough that if they were to attend a cocktail party together, no one would think it was inappropriate but slutty enough that it really worked if she was going to be in a dungeon like this. A tight, curve-hugging, backless one with patches of sheer fabric here and there to expose a hint of skin. He was in his uniform but she had been expecting that. He looked good in it, for one, but for two, he'd told her what he wanted from her for this and that he'd still be in uniform. She wondered if he got off wearing it when he did this stuff with her as much as she got off to seeing him in it. 

"Yeah, you are really good at following orders," He said and came towards her, his hands moving to cup her face as he looked down into her eyes. "Let's see if you can continue to be well behaved, shall we?" 

"Of course sir," She nodded. 

"Remember the safe word?" He asked. 

"Yes, sir," She replied. 

"Good." He leaned in and kissed her, though it was barely anything, his lips merely ghosting hers as a tease before he backed up and stepped over to the wall. He pulled down some handcuffs. They looked normal enough, not ones specifically made to counter her strength. 

"Uh, sir," 

"Thought we'd start easy." He said and dangled them in front of her. 

"No offense, sir, but I trust you to use actual restraints and I would personally prefer that. Don't go easy on me. You know I hate that kind of thing." She said. He grinned, she wondered if he was expecting that sort of answer or if this had been a test. Either way, it seemed like he was pleased with the response. He went back to the wall and hung the cuffs back up, exchanging them in favor of much stronger restraints that would actually hold her. 

"Up against the wall, that one, hands above your head." He said. Motioning to a wall where there was an obvious area that the restraints he was about to use on her would hook into and keep her in place. She nodded and headed over there, raising her hands up above her head and keeping her wrists together. He stepped up behind her, pressing into her tightly. She could feel how aroused he already was, smell him, it made her groan softly as he locked her into place completely. She gave it a bit of a tug, but it was no use. She could tell just from the bare minimum effort that she wasn't going to break these cuffs or the hook they'd been attached to in the wall. His hands rested on her hips a moment later as he rubbed against her for a moment before releasing her, then he slapped her ass roughly. "You really like this, don't you?" 

"Yes sir," She admitted, her face flaring up red, getting hot. She didn't know why she liked this but it drove her crazy like nothing else she'd ever experienced before. She felt him start to unzip her dress and once the zipper was all the way down, it slid off of her easily since it had also had no sleeves. Something else he'd requested, or at very least he'd told her to wear something that was easy to get out of. She stood there, only left in her stiletto heels, thigh high black stockings, panties, and bra. A matching set. 

"Garter belt too? How did you even know what that was?" Ed chuckled. 

"Um...did some research and you seem to like that sort of thing...earth women and old fashioned and...that sort of thing, sir." She said softly. 

"Huh, guess I should stop underestimating how eager you are to please your new master." He replied. She turned her head to try to see what he was doing behind her but from the angle, she was positioned she couldn't see much. She was glad that she'd made the right choice in what she was wearing, though. It wasn't the most comfortable thing in the world but if he liked it that much it was worth the trouble. "But, might be getting him a bit too excited and that would make you pretty naughty now, wouldn't it?" 

"What?" She whispered. 

"You heard me, you little tease. You know what you do to me, don't play stupid. I know you're not." He said, his voice becoming more commanding, firm, getting to that Captain's tone that he used when he was in command and far less casual. She felt herself start to melt, she was almost positive that she could cum just listening to his voice at times, especially if he kept talking to her like that. 

"I..I'm sorry sir, I just thought-" 

"Oh you don't do the thinking when you are in here, you just follow orders. Understood?" He asked. She nodded and a moment later felt something strike her ass. It wasn't his hand either. She yelped and turned just enough to see he was holding a riding crop. She licked her lips slowly. 

"Yes, sir. I understand." She replied. 

"Good girl," He purred and slapped her again, on the other side. This got another involuntary yelp from her. "What's the count?" 

"Two, sir," She replied. 

"Good, keep count," He said and went about hitting her a few more times. She attempted to focus on what he was doing and how many times he hit her but her mind was clouded with arousal and it was only growing with each slap to her ass. Just when she thought she couldn't take it anymore she felt him step up behind her and press into her again. "How many?" He breathed in her ear. 

"Twenty-five, sir.." She panted, "Thank you..." 

"You want me to fuck you, huh?" He whispered his hand coming up to stroke her hair gently. She let out a low whine and nodded her head. She wanted that more than anything. She heard him chuckle darkly and then he reached under her to tease her through the fabric of her panties with his fingers. She was wet and she knew he could feel just how much, a thought that was as humiliating as it was exciting. "You really want it, didn't realize you were such a pain slut." 

"Please, sir..." 

"I'm sorry what was that?" He asked, quickly switching sides to speak in her other ear instead. She mewled softly and wiggled a bit, trying to rub against his hand but it seemed he knew just the right way to keep contact without allowing her to get more of it no matter how she moved. 

"Please, Captain...fuck me." She repeated louder and in a more firm tone of voice. He liked being called Captain during moments like this and she liked calling him that. It was far more taboo and enticing than calling him Master. He shifted a bit behind her and moved the crotch of her panties to the side just enough that he was able to thrust into her quickly without even attempting to get out of his uniform more than necessary, which she loved. She cried out in pleasure as he started to thrust into her. His hands on her hips holding her firmly in place. "Oh God..." 

"Fuck....that's right..." He muttered, his mouth moving to her neck where he started to kiss and nip at the skin, moving down over her shoulder, growling softly but possessively. His hips working at a frantic pace denoting just how aroused he had become as well. She screamed out in pleasure, her hands clenching into fists. It only took moments for her to orgasm but he kept going, kept ramming into her. The overstimulation causing pain and pleasure, an intoxicating combination causing her vision to tunnel as he continued on his mission to get himself off. 

"P-Please..." 

"Please what? Stop? No one told you to cum," He snarled in her ear, his hands moving up from behind to cup her tits firmly, massaging them through the fabric of her bra. She screamed and moaned, struggling just a bit. She hated this as much as she loved it, his total disregard for her so he could cum. Terrible and wonderful all at once. "Such a naughty little...cocktease..." He panted. 

"Yes...yes Captain..." She agreed breathlessly. 

"Thank me...for teaching you a lesson, you know what I want to hear." He whispered she could tell he was close by his breathing pattern and how quickly he was moving now. 

"Thank you, for putting me in my place...Captain Mercer..." She replied in a shaky voice. That seemed to be what sent him over the edge to his own climax and triggered a second one of hers. She screamed out, her eyes shutting tightly as she let the waves of pleasure crash over her. She kept them closed until the sensation died down only to open them and find herself on the bridge, during her shift. She gasped loudly and nearly fell out of her chair. What the hell had just happened here? 

"Is everything okay, Lieutenant?" Bortus asked her a moment later. She turned to look at him. The answer was, of course, no. This wasn't right. She was supposed to be sick, wasn't she? With a brain infection? In bed and Ed was with her, right? Except when she turned to look, he was on the bridge. He definitely seemed concerned, but not in the manner which she might be dying with an infection, more in the manner that she probably looked like she'd gone completely insane right in the moment. 

"No," She said slowly, "Everything is not okay." 

"Alara?" Ed asked and stood up. She stood up as well, her legs shaking. She couldn't explain any of this and she no longer could tell what reality was and what fantasy was. However, she knew that this couldn't be reality either, just as much as...well whatever the dungeon scenario was. There was also no pain, not like the headache that she was constantly experiencing while she was awake and with Ed in her room as they traveled to the medical outpost to get her treatment. Something had gone horribly wrong at some point but she didn't know what. 

"Something is wrong here, Captain," She said, "But I'm unsure how to explain what it is or why I know, but it is. Can I see you...uh...privately?" 

"Yeah..." Ed said slowly, "Kelly, you have the bridge for now." She nodded and Alara hurried out of there, keeping her head down as she tried to ignore the very weird stares she was getting from everyone else on the bridge who, no doubt, thought she had snapped in the middle of her shift. Once they were out of there and in the hall, alone together she looked at Ed. 

"Okay, I'm not sure how to explain this but this can't be real," She told him. 

"What?" He laughed, "I think maybe you could use a break, to be honest, we all could. We've been out here charting stars and nothing else for so long-" 

"No, listen to me," She interrupted, "I have a brain infection, or had...something like that. The last time I was awake I had a very bad headache and almost no memory of anything. Doctor Finn was treating me and you had just taken me to my room to rest. This isn't real, this is...maybe I'm in a coma or something but I know that this can't be right." 

"Alright just slow down," Ed said and put a hand on her arm, "I have no reason not to believe you, mostly, because I also know you aren't someone to jump to random conclusions for no reason or be delusional, but you do realize what you are telling me right now sounds entirely insane, right?" 

"I am very aware of that, sir," She said, "I just don't know what to do about it otherwise. I need to wake up." 

"Alara, you are awake," He said firmly. 

"No, I'm not." She insisted, "Wake me up I NEED TO WAKE UP!" 

"HEY!" He grabbed her other arm and shook her a bit, "You are awake, but you may need to rest so I'm going to have you take the rest of your shift off. See Doctor Finn." 

"But she-" 

"Alara, I really don't want to have to throw you in the brig, can you please just follow my orders?" He asked. Then he looked her in the eyes, the same look he'd given her last in sickbay the one that denoted that he had deep feelings for her. Except, now she was in a coma and this Ed wasn't real and it was debatable how much she'd actually told him she felt in real life and how much of that she had dreamed. She didn't know what was going on but she did know that in the moment she was trapped in a fantasy, dream, or delusion. "I'll come see you later, we'll have a nice dinner." She nodded slowly and he stroked her cheek softly before stepping back. 

"I...I'll go see Doctor Finn," She said softly. At least it seemed that even in her delusion world she was still with Ed. He had no reason to listen to her or believe her, especially if this was just a scenario her own mind was concocting and of course why would he? If this was her own brain and it was controlling the portrayal of Ed Mercer, he wouldn't be himself, he would be what she saw of him. What her own subconscious image of him was. Not Ed Mercer in reality. If that was the case then she had almost no chance of getting him to believe her, it was hard enough to get him to listen when he wasn't part of her own mind. 

"Do you want me to come with you?" He asked. 

"No, I'll be okay. I'm probably just tired you know? Maybe some cabin fever." She said, "I'll get there, don't worry about me." 

"I'll see you after my shift then," He said. She nodded and then headed out of there and down the hall to get on the lift so she could get to the right deck. She didn't know what she would end up finding once she got to sickbay or if she'd even make it there before her reality morphed into yet another random thing, but she did know that she was going to have to try to find her way back to where she came from. To reality. This wasn't good and she feared that if she stayed in it too long she'd be trapped forever. 


	7. For The Wicked

As she stepped off of the lift to head to sickbay she noticed the lights flicker. She took a few more steps and the lights shut off completely. In fact, the entire ship seemed to shut down as everything went pitch black. Her heart started to pound in her throat and she backed up, pressing herself against the nearest wall. She closed her eyes tightly and took in a deep breath attempting to tell herself it would pass. An unknown amount of time later, it did, and she became aware that the lights were on again and everything was relatively normal. Even the usual hum of the ship was back how it should be. She started to head to sickbay again but when she got in there it was empty. Completely. Trying not to panic, she went into Claire's office but she wasn't there either. 

"Computer, locate Doctor Finn." She said. 

"Claire Finn is not currently aboard The Orville." The computer replied. 

"Locate Gordon Malloy," she said next, even if she was unsure why her second choice was Gordon she also knew she wasn't thinking clearly so that probably explained it. 

"Gordon Malloy is not aboard The Orville," 

"John LaMarr," 

"John LaMarr is not-" 

"Kelly Grayson," 

"Kelly Grayson is not aboard-" 

"Okay, who the hell is here?" She snapped her mind in a frenzy at that point. She felt dizzy and had to sit down, which she immediately did on the couch which was only a few feet behind her at that point. 

"Captain Ed Mercer is present." The computer told her. 

"Ed Mercer is the only other person on this ship right  now?" Alara asked. There was a long pause, at least it seemed long, probably because the computer was checking to see if there were any other signs of life and the ship was big. It wasn't huge, but it had a general population of nearly four hundred crewmen so it probably would take a moment. 

"The current occupants of The Orville are Captain Ed Mercer and Lieutenant Alara Kitan." The computer confirmed a moment later. 

"How?" 

"Please rephrase the question." The computer responded. She rolled her eyes, that was just great. For some reason, it was now only her and Ed on the ship and the computer didn't seem to know why that was the case or how it happened. She didn't think she'd get any answers unless she ran scans herself, manually, but the more important thing here was talking to Ed. 

"Lieutenant Kitan to Captain Mercer," 

"Go ahead," 

"Okay so, now do you believe something weird is going on here?" Alara asked him. 

"Yeah...starting to see why you'd think that," Ed replied, "Where are you now? Sickbay?" 

"Yes, sir." 

"Stay right there I'm on my way." He replied. It was a good thing he said that too because she didn't even want to move. Her last memory of anything was being sick with a brain infection and the worst headache she'd ever experienced in her life. She knew that where she was now and what was happening couldn't possibly be real, right? Or was the whole thing about her head injury or infection or whatever that was a dream? Just trying to think about what might really be going on and what reality was, made her dizzy. The idea of walking out of there to find Ed was too overwhelming. She laid down on the couch and curled up, closing her eyes tightly. Whatever this was, she only wanted it to be over. She just wanted to wake up. 

* * *

The next thing she knew she was waking up in her bed, Ed was asleep draped across the foot of it on his back, his head hanging off of the side. He was snoring loudly. She sat up quickly, her head hurt just a lot less than it had before she'd gone to sleep. This was what she remembered though. This specifically. She was back. She'd actually woke up. It was such a great feeling of relief she almost cried but before that could happen she started laughing at how Ed was positioned. She had no idea how he'd gotten comfortable enough like that to fall asleep but it was really tickling her at the moment. He jerked awake and sat up quickly then groaned, putting a hand to his neck. 

"What's so funny? Are you okay?" He asked and slowly turned to look at her with concern in his eyes. 

"Nothing, just a lot of bad dreams but it's okay now. I'm awake." She smiled at him. He smiled back and she crawled into his lap to pull him into a hug. He hugged her back and held her close she could swear she felt him smelling her hair or something but decided not to draw attention to it and looked up at him. "I'm really awake, right?" 

"Yeah," He said, "Want me to pinch you?" 

"I'll just take my chances," She laughed and kissed him on the lips softly. There was a chime at the door and despite her annoyance, Alara told them they could enter. She just assumed it would be Claire. She looked at Ed, "I'm guessing she's here to give me some kind of medication?" 

"I'm guessing that you would be right," Ed replied, "If it's any consolation you look a lot better than before." 

"I was on a lot of painkillers before if I recall right," She replied. 

"That would probably explain the weird dreams." He said. She nodded. That certainly did make sense. She'd have to try to avoid those from now on even if they really had helped her headache become far more tolerable than it was. She quickly moved off of Ed's lap before Claire could get in there, doing it just in time too. She had some supplies with her in a small med kit. 

"Just an injection," She said, "Might make you feel a bit sick, or woozy, but it will help you keep fighting the infection until we can get to the medical outpost." 

"Great," Alara said and looked at Ed. She was feeling a weird sensation like she wanted to attack Claire to get her away. It was less than it had been before but she wasn't sure she could trust herself. She found her hand reaching out towards Ed's and he took it, giving it a soft squeeze. It relaxed her long enough for Claire to give her the injection which took all of five seconds at most to do. "That's it?" 

"That's all there is to it," Claire said, "What is your pain like?" 

"Bad," Alara said and rubbed at the injection site on her neck, "But I'll deal with it. That pain medication you gave me before was not very fun. Really bad dreams." 

"It can do that to you," Claire said, "I can't force you to take it either but it's an option if you feel you need it." 

"Thanks," She replied. 

"Get some rest, and let me know if he's bothering you too much," Claire said, motioning to Ed before giving him a look. 

"Oh, what are you going to do about it? I'm the Captain I think I can-" He paused reacting to Claire's intense gaze which made Alara snicker a bit, "Right well...you just consider that." Claire laughed and started to head out of there. 

"Don't let him keep you up all night with his worrying." She called to Alara before she was gone again. 

"I think I'm more likely to keep you up all night," Alara said, "I don't like this and I still can't remember much of anything. It's very frustrating." She laid back down on the bed and closed her eyes again taking in a deep breath. She was attempting to not only calm herself but also figure out what had gotten her in this position in the first place. They had mentioned something about food smuggled aboard the ship. Something with bacteria in it like yogurt or cheese, but that didn't make sense. She wouldn't have eaten anything like that. She knew better. There was also nothing like that which existed in her native cuisine that would be tempting enough to consume that she'd also smuggle it on board. 

"Just try to rest, we'll be there before you know it," Ed replied, though he didn't sound as sure of himself as she was sure he wanted to sound. She tried to ignore that and focus on her breathing. If they could just make it there and keep this infection at bay until that point, she knew she'd be okay. She just couldn't give up. 

* * *

"ALARA!" Ed snapped at her from across the mess hall. She turned to look at him. He didn't look happy with her. Everyone present had now turned their attention to him as well, her too. She felt her face get hot as it flared up red in a humiliated blush. She didn't like that her own humiliation now aroused her to some extent, at least when it came to him doing it. She hurried towards him, keeping her head down, trying to avoid the gazes of the crew, who were definitely interested in seeing some drama go down. 

"Uh...Yes sir?" She asked softly. 

"Gordon doesn't believe we've fucked," Ed said, motioning to Malloy who looked smug. Her eyes went wide and she stared at him in disbelief. Was this really happening? Was he really doing this now? Wait...how did she even get in the mess hall? 

"Sir, I don't think..." 

"That's right, you fucking don't." He growled and pulled her in close, pressing against her so she could definitely feel how aroused he was. All eyes were on them, of course, as he pulled her into a hungry kiss which she barely resisted. At least at first. Then, she couldn't take it anymore. She knew this was wrong or something was wrong, and she had to make it stop. She shoved him back. Not with nearly as much force as she could have but definitely enough to get him to stumble back a few feet. 

"Ed," She breathed, but when she looked around the mess hall was empty and it was just the two of them standing there. He came towards her, his hand reached out and grabbed her hair, forcing her to her knees. She let out a strangled cry but found she was almost powerless to resist him, even if she had wanted to, which surprisingly she really didn't. Not at the moment. He wrenched her head back, giving her no choice but to look up in his direction. "W-What....what's going on?" 

"You're mine," He sneered, "Say it." 

"Sir I-" 

"FUCKING SAY IT!" He snapped at her then backhanded her across the face. Despite the fact that she knew this was wrong she couldn't have been more aroused. At least no one was in there anymore to watch this, but why? Her arousal to the situation completely overrode her ability to think clearly so she just stared at him. He raised his hand again. 

"I'm yours, sir." She blurted out almost involuntarily, "Anything you want I'm yours, I'm your dirty Xelayan whore." 

"Good," He smirked. The hand that he had raised came down to stroke her cheek gently, a thumb tracing over her lips. She couldn't help but smile at him then, with how he was looking at her. It made her feel warm all over. Butterflies fluttering in her stomach as she anticipated what was surely to come. "Bridge, now." He motioned towards the door firmly and then without another word started to walk towards the doors. She scrambled to her feet and hurried after him. 

"Sir, shouldn't we be worried about-" 

"No need to worry," He said calmly, "Just you and me here, you gotta learn to go with the flow sometimes. Have a little fun. Ain't no rest for the wicked." She heard him laugh as he exited and she had no choice but to follow on what now seemed like a completely deserted ship. She got into the hall behind him, having to walk what felt like twice as fast as usual in order to keep up but she was still always one step behind. 

"What's going on?" She asked him. 

"I said there ain't no rest for the wicked, money don't grow on trees, I got bills to pay I got mouths to feed, there ain't  nothing in this world for free-" 

"Are you singing-" 

"Oh no I can't slow down, I can't hold back, though you know I wish I could. No there ain't no rest for the wicked. Until we closed our eyes for good." He was definitely singing and the song seemed maybe familiar, though it really could have just been the specific phrase 'ain't no rest for the wicked' which she'd definitely heard before. It was hard to tell. It felt like she knew the song and it was oddly specific for the situation. Whatever this was, she just kept following him until they were on the bridge, which was also completely deserted. 

"Sir," She said, "I don't know what's going on here but-" 

"Now's our chance." He said excitedly, taking her arm and leading her towards the captain's chair. She stumbled after him, still aroused, her legs kind of weak, and her brain wanting to do nothing other than be at his every command. Hang on his every word. Even if she felt this was off something about it felt okay. Part of her wanted nothing more than to be alone with Ed on the ship so they could do these things together. Maybe he was right, maybe she should just go with the flow. It was  probably just a dream, right? Fantasy? Something like that. it had to be. 

He sat down in the captain's chair and pulled her onto his lap so she was straddling it and facing him. He yanked her into a passionate kiss and she kissed him back just as passionately, her hands running over his chest for moment until he stopped her. He put his hands over her wrists and this was enough to get her to pull back from the kiss, looking down at him and breathing heavily. 

"Strip," He said. 

"H-Here?" She asked and looked around. 

"No one else is here and I didn't hear anyone else talking to you, did I?" He asked. She guessed her had a point. 

"Okay, if that's what you want then," She whispered and got to her feet. She started to pull off her uniform, moving slowly. It was very odd doing something like this right on the bridge but since it was just the two of them, it was less odd. It was exciting as well, taboo even. Something she had fantasized about a time or two before anyway. When she was completely bare, he motioned for her to get on his lap again. She got back in the same position as before, and he pulled her into one more kiss. She could fel him shifting under her until she also felt his cock brushing against her inner thigh. She gasped softly over his lips, the tip of his cock running over her sufficiently wet folds until his hands grabbed her hips firmly. He thrust up into her as he pulled down, getting her onto his cock in one swift motion. She moaned into his mouth, a tremor of pleasure rocking her body. He slapped her ass sharply, causing it to sting. 

"Ride me," he whispered into her ear after pulling away from the kiss. She nodded and started to move her hips up and down, slow at first, she didn't want to break the chair or his hips. That would be a very bad thing, but she'd had plenty of sexual interactions with humans so it wasn't hard for her to control what she was doing if she needed to. She sped up when he slapped her ass a second time, it was seemingly what he wanted. Then both of his hands were on her hips again holding her firmly. He started to moan and she joined him. He felt amazing, he sounded amazing. Everything about this was incredible and she knew that she was going to cum harder than she ever had before. "You like this...don't you?" 

"Oh...oh fuck...yes Captain..." She panted. He groaned when she called him that which only caused her to speed up more. His hands caressed her back then ran over her shoulders and down her arms. One then slipped to her stomach, over her abdomen and down to her clit. She whimpered as he started to apply pressure with one of his fingers to stimulate her more. She couldn't hold back any longer and she came with a loud scream which was quickly muffled as she pressed her mouth against his neck. The pleasure was nearly blinding and she saw a flash of white, hearing his moans of pleasure as he joined her in climax. 

* * *

"Alara?" Ed's voice was behind her now. She was in the mess hall, a half-eaten salad on the plate in front of her. She blinked a few times and shook her head before turning to look at him, "Are you okay?" 

"Huh? Yes...yes I'm fine," She replied quickly then looked down at her food, "Do you...remember what I was doing before I got here?" 

"Yes..." He said slowly then sat down across from her setting his tray of food down as well. It looked like he had a cheeseburger, currently untouched. He had probably just replicated it. Out of nowhere, a ravenous hunger overtook her and she grabbed it from his plate, shoving it into her mouth. Her mind telling her she needed the food more than anything and she really had to hold back to keep herself from attempting to swallow it whole, or else she knew she'd choke. "Alright slow down there, hey, Alara!" 

She'd finished almost all of the burger before realizing what she was doing. She dropped what little was left of it onto her plate then wiped her mouth quickly, people were staring again. Her mind was a total blank. She didn't remember the events of the day or even the past week. She barely remembered what her name was. 

"Oh God, I'm...so sorry," She said with a mouthful of food. She got up quickly and hurried out of there, not knowing what was wrong with her but also knowing she didn't want anyone to be staring at her like some kind of sideshow attraction any longer. She'd only made it halfway down the corridor outside before Ed caught up to her, putting a hand on her arm. 

"I think you need to go to sickbay," He said as she turned to look at him. 

"Where did you think I was going?" She asked, but she didn't even think that's where she was going until he suggested that idea. In fact, if he had asked her where she was headed before saying that she wasn't sure she'd have had an answer for him. 

"I'll make sure you get there, then," He said. She nodded slowly and he helped her towards the lift. When the doors opened, Lila was standing there. She smiled at them, mostly at him, and Alara saw red. She screamed angrily and lunged at the woman, grabbing her by the hair and yanking down sharply and quickly enough to break her neck. She did this without much of a thought, something that would be seriously impossible for a human to do, but not someone like her. "ALARA!" 

"SHE CAN'T HAVE YOU!" Alara snarled at him, "YOU ARE MINE AND I AM YOURS! WHAT IS GOING ON HERE?!" 

"Okay just...take a deep breath, it's going to be okay." 

"NOTHING IS OKAY!" She screamed at him. It felt like her world was collapsing in around her. She didn't know what was real and what was fake anymore. Where she was. What was happening. She knew she needed help but she feared no one would be able to help her. She screamed angrily and slammed her head into the wall of the lift. Everything went black. 


End file.
